The ENERGI practice group assists purchasers, sellers and lenders of real property by providing the analysis and follow up permitting experience in environmental, natural resources and regulatory areas vital to most real estate transactions. Our ENERGI lawyers partner with our real estate lawyers to address any environmental law issues, whether federal or state, which may arise in development projects, including air quality, water quality and water rights.
The following are the types of issues for which our ENERGI lawyers have assisted clients in real property transactions: developed strategies to address the existing environmental contamination on-site; ensured the client conducted all appropriate environmental inquiries; identified and characterized endangered/threatened species on-site; determined water rights and actual water available for a particular use; prepared applications for and obtained certificates of assured or adequate water supply; determined the applicability of various federal, state and local environmental laws and prepared applications for and obtained necessary permits, such as Section 404 and 402 permits, air quality permits and hazardous waste permits.
In the utility area, utilities are essential for any real estate project. Our utility clients must interface with real estate developers and those developers must interface with utilities. We have represented parties on both sides of these transactions. In addition, many utility projects, such as solar plants and electric transmission lines, require the purchase and/or lease of large tracts of land. These types of projects also require environmental experience, which makes for strong synergies between utility work, environmental work and real estate.
Our experienced practitioners have represented buyers, sellers, lenders, developers, investors, tribal entities with plans outside Indian Country and non-tribal entities with plans in Indian Country. We regularly assist developers in turning environmentally impaired property into hotel, retail, other commercial and residential developments without taking on the liability for the past sins of previous owners (aka Brownfield redevelopment). Our experience includes navigating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process including all of the above as well as cultural resource issues. Having completed hundreds of different projects, our practice offers clients the ability to get the deal done, with lawyers who are practical and who manage multiple aspects of any single project, and are able to reduce the cost otherwise incurred to have a single-topic expert in each niche area of this exciting and dynamic part of real estate deals.
Our representative experience includes:
- Represented national insurance company against allegations that a construction defect caused mold growth and water intrusion.
- Represented property owner in class action suit involving allegations of groundwater contamination.
- Represented local dry cleaners, national hazardous water recycling company and multiple manufacturing companies in both Superfund and State equivalent litigation matters in Arizona, New Hampshire and California.
- Represented farms, national frozen food processing corporation and mining corporation in water rights litigations in Arizona and in California.
- Represented a variety of landowners (individuals, developers, manufacturers and chemical laboratories) in damages claims against former owners/operators of property and in defense of suits brought by other landowners.
- Represented a variety of clients in Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, RCRA, storm water and state equivalent law enforcement actions dealing with EPA, state and local government authorities.